When my wife and son go away to her family’s annual vacation spot, my version of the vacation is the Me Time I get while they’re away. Historically this has been interrupted by things going wrong at home while I’m watching the place, from damaging leaks in the walls to this most recent invasion of ants.
This year’s staycation hasn’t been the most peaceful of Me Times, but thankfully I’m getting my own summer treat this weekend.
Long before I even started dating my wife, my friends and I had our own summer vacation tradition. We would gather at a place in another state for a week and spend those days in blissful relaxation, cooking for one another and swimming and playing board games until we passed out. Time and circumstances ended that tradition years ago, but one of my friends is reviving it this weekend for his birthday celebration.
On the upside, now I’ll get to go away for a few days while someone else watches the house and the cats. On the downside, I’ll be leaving on the same day my wife and son return from their two-week trip, and our paths won’t cross. Such is the way of scheduling and the summer.
While it’ll be even longer than two weeks since I’ll have seen my family, I’m looking forward to this weekend’s trip. I’m making it a road trip with my childhood friend, and I adore road trips. So there and back again will be a treat within a treat for me, so long as he lets me control the music in the car. (Contrary to what some people in my family think, I am an excellent road trip DJ.)
And then, not long after I return and reunite with my family, I’ll be turning around and leaving for DragonCon for almost a week.